For Everyone
by trekker4life
Summary: The final battle...a near indefeatable foe...weakened forces on the side of good...what can one miko do but protect her loved ones? InuKag, Canon, Oneshot, Complete.


_**Hi All!**_

_**Yeah, yeah, I know…I need to update…. But those of you who are authors can agree with me that when inspiration strikes, we must obey…right? Anyway, this was inspired by the bridge of a song that the choir I'm in practiced a while ago. The song is "There is a Remedy" by Annie McRae. I've used the bridge in here as dialogue, so I hope it works okay….**_

_**Trekker (Fanfiction)**_

_**YoukaiLuvr (Mediaminer)**_

_**Disclaimer:**_** I own no part of the series Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi, nor do I own the song **_**There is a Remedy**_** by Annie McRae.**

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**For Everyone**

"Ngh...ow…."

Kagome slowly got up from where she had just been thrown by one of Naraku's tentacles. Standing up fully, she surveyed the battlefield around her.

Behind her stood the remains of an abandoned village. The last battle with Naraku had started at the most unlikely place – the village destroyed by his third incarnation, Goshinki, so long ago.

_For the little, for the lonely_

Being here brought back memories of those two children. Their parents…no, their entire village was killed by that despicable creature. They were so small, so alone...

_For the weary and afraid_

Shaking off the memories, Kagome turned to the left to see Kirara, Shippou, and Hachi. The neko was exhausted and injured; the kit and tanuki were there to guard her, but they were already weakened themselves and couldn't provide much protection.

_For the burdened and frustrated_

Turning a bit to the right, she saw a most unlikely pair fighting together – Miroku and Sesshoumaru. Perhaps 'together' was too strong of a word…it was more like 'in the same vincinity.' Regardless, the two were hardly fairing any better.

Miroku was unable to use his Kazanna due to the presence of those blasted saimyoushou, thus he was forced to rely on his ofuda and shakujou alone, which tired him more. Kagome could tell that the situation was affecting Sesshoumaru as well, though the signs were barely there.

The hits he was making were taking out several of Naraku's youkai at a time, however it hardly made a dent in the amount, for more replaced them as soon as they fell. And that was getting the great lord frustrated…what was the point of using your underlings if you simply forced them to be cannon fodder?

_The discouraged and dismayed_

Turning a bit more, Kagome's gaze fell on the ookami. Kouga had arrived the day before the fight with Ginta, Hakkaku, and as many of the most able fighters his tribe could spare – which was a formidable number…against any other foe. The fight's length had worn them down as well.

All of the ookami knew that the future of their tribe rested on the outcome of this battle, but even with Kouga's Goraishi, they were getting tired. Kagome could see the light leaving their eyes…as if they were fighting because they had to, but they believed they had no hope of winning, of surviving.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kagome knew that it was odd that Naraku hadn't attacked her yet. After all, she was presenting a near-perfect target, standing out here alone. But she was so absorbed in looking around the battlefield – not to mention recovering from that last blow…if she moved too fast, she saw double – that she pushed those thoughts away unconsciously.

_For the mocked and persecuted_

She turned a bit more and saw Kikyou fighting near Inuyasha. The undead miko had arrived late the night before, sporting several new and severe cracks in her clay shell. From what Inuyasha could get out of her, the village she had been staying at had suddenly turned on her and practically threw her out. The entire scenario reeked of Naraku, but the damage had been done, so there was nothing to be done to prevent it.

Kagome had done her best to try to seal some of the cracks that night, but without the pure water and graveside soil, didn't have much success. The wounds resulted in Kikyou's current condition – leaning against a tree, firing arrows only when needed, and a soul escaping every few minutes.

Inuyasha was sticking right by Kikyou and Kagome couldn't blame him for that. This battle was one for their lives and everyone was backing up everyone else. Kagome did, however, blame Naraku for the fact that Inuyasha had gotten so injured. The hanyou was okay physically – bruised and battered like the rest, but he had avoided the severe injuries he had been known for – but his emotional state was another matter. The battle had started as a battle of words; Naraku insulted and degraded just about every aspect of Inuyasha and his character possible before the inu-hanyou had enough and started the physical fight.

_For the battered, for the wronged_

Kagome turned yet again and saw Kohaku fighting against several youkai. At first, her spirits rose a little, seeing that he was fighting with them against Naraku…but then she remembered that the reason he was able to fight would have to be removed after the battle. The jewel couldn't be allowed to be in this world any longer – it had to be purified and wished upon with a pure wish to remove it.

If it hadn't been for the jewel, then the young man Kagome was watching fight with all his might wouldn't have to be in the horrible position of a slave, whether to Naraku or the jewel itself. As she watched, Kohaku was tripped by a youkai tail and fell to the ground, where another youkai was poised to strike. Kagome pulled an arrow from her quiver – which miraculously stayed with her – and set it in her bow to fire, only to nearly be knocked off her feet by a sudden, strong gust of wind.

The wind rushed past her and knocked the youkai about to kill Kohaku off balance enough that the boy could regain his balance and return to the fray. Kagome realized that the gust of wind had saved Kohaku and that meant only one person could have sent it…yet another person who owed their misery to Naraku. _Kagura..._

_For the scarred and for the wounded_

A sudden battle cry sounded from the Kagome's left. Turning, she saw Sango hurling Hiraikotsu at Naraku. A tear in the back of Sango's outfit was testament to how bad the fight was going and also allowed a small glimpse of the scar on her back, the scar given to her by the hanyou they were fighting. The Hiraikotsu came spiraling back, slicing through several root-like tentacles before coming to a stop in it's mistress' hand.

A flash of red and silver alerted her to Inuyasha's presence. Pivoting in place to watch for him, she was just in time to see him get impaled on a tentacle, courtesy of Naraku. She gasped, frightened for him, regardless of how many times he had endured the same injury in the past. Her fear for Inuyasha, for Sango, for Shippou, for everyone, quickly turned to anger toward Naraku.

_For the weak and for the strong!_

A brilliantly pink, purifying arrow sped through the chaos of the battlefield to make a solid hit on Naraku's left shoulder, disintegrating his arm and calling every fighter's attention to him.

"Naraku!"

All eyes turned toward Kagome, who stood on the opposite end of the battlefield with her aura so strong it was visible, swirling around her like a blazing fire. Her eyes, though, held nothing but contempt and disgust for the creature standing before her.

"Naraku, you die tonight! I swear to you that!"

The creature laughed. "Many have said that here tonight, my dear miko, and yet, here I stand, still alive."

Her eyes narrowed at his comment. As she spoke, her aura flared brighter and brighter, until it hurt to look anywhere near her.

"I will make good on my promise. _For the little, for the lonely. For the weary and afraid. For the burdened and frustrated, the discouraged and dismayed. For the mocked and persecuted. For the battered, for the wronged. For the scarred and for the wounded. For the weak and for the strong! _For everyone that you have ever hurt, Naraku, this is for them!"

Kagome released a blast of pure power that shattered the barrier Naraku through up in an effort to stop it. The attack continued, going straight through the recombinant body he had created for himself, disintegrating most on contact and the rest by mere grazing.

The fighters were still in shock from the sudden end to the battle when Kagome, aura still flaring, walked over to Kohaku, drawing their attention. He looked up at her.

"Lady Kagome? You must need my shard, don't you?"

Her voice was her own, yet not. It sounded as if it was the voice of one who had the knowledge of the ancients…and the age to prove it. "Yes, but before I do, I must tell you this. I believe the shard allowed your body to heal on it's own. Overcoming Naraku's spell and retrieving your memories was proof of that. If I'm right, you will survive this, though you'll more than likely be a little weak for a few days."

A light of hope flickered in Kohaku's eyes at Kagome's mention of him being able to live, but it was quickly extinguished. She spoke again.

"However, I will not do this if you continue to blame yourself for your actions while under Naraku's spell. It never was and never will be your fault; the sooner you realize this, the sooner you _and_ your sister can be happy."

Kohaku blinked and looked past Kagome to see Sango looking at him, a cautious hope on her face. He looked back at Kagome. "Alright. I understand; I'm ready."

Kagome nodded and reached around him, pulling out the shard. He grunted, then fell unconscious. Sango rushed over, Miroku in tow. "Kohaku!"

"He's okay, Sango, just unconscious. As soon as he rests for a couple of days, he'll be fine."

Leaving Sango in Miroku's hands, non-wandering for once and kazaana-less for the first time, Kagome walked over to Kikyou, who had resumed her position against a tree. Inuyasha followed her, though he hadn't approached her yet.

"Kikyou."

The elder miko opened her eyes and turned to the younger. "Kagome. I see you have fully freed the boy."

Kagome nodded. "I have. I also believe I have enough power left to heal you, if you wish."

The elder miko watched the younger for a moment, taking in her appearance. Kagome's aura, while still flaring, was considerably dimmer than before and fading fast. Her eyes were starting to dull; her entire body was starting to droop.

"No."

"What?" Kagome was surprised.

"No, I don't wish for you to heal me. I do, however, wish for you to complete the destruction of my body by purifying it…what remains of it."

"Kikyou…I can't…I mean…Inuyasha..."

Said hanyou made his presence known. "Oi, Kagome."

Her head whipped toward him.

"Kikyou and I…we've talked about this. Do what she wants…please."

Kagome took one more look at Inuyasha, then placed her hands on Kikyou's shoulders and released a pulse of purification energy. The clay body that had made Kikyou's shell returned to dust under her fingers as the missing piece of her soul came home, whispering one sentence.

"_Thank you...and take care of him, Kagome."_

After the support of Kikyou's clay body gave out, Kagome collapsed and would have fallen forward if it hadn't been for Inuyasha catching her. He turned her onto her back in his arms.

"Kagome? Are you alright?"

She managed to nod, though even that seemed to require more effort than it should have.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, exhausted. "That was more energy than I've ever used at one time before, though, so I'm drained. I'll probably sleep for several days."

Inuyasha looked at the angel in his arms. "Kagome, before you fall asleep, I want to tell you something."

She looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I…I think I'm in love with you."

She laughed. "You think? Well, maybe I can remedy your issue…I _know_ I'm in love with you, my Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blinked. And blinked again. Then smiled like the sun on a cloudless spring day before leaning in to capture Kagome's lips with his own.

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_**Okay, that seems like a decent place to end it. So, what do you think? For being unedited, mostly typed in less than three hours, and all typed off the top of my head, I think it's pretty good. Oh, and here are the lyrics in order, along with who they are supposed to correspond to in the story.**_

_For the little, for the lonely__** (the children from Goshinki's attack)**_

_For the weary and afraid__** (Kirara, Shippou, and Hachi)**_

_For the burdened and frustrated__** (Miroku and Sesshoumaru)**_

_The discouraged and dismayed__** (Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku, other wolves)**_

_For the mocked and persecuted__** (Inuyasha and Kikyou)**_

_For the battered, for the wronged__** (Kohaku and Kagura)**_

_For the scarred and for the wounded__** (Sango and Inuyasha)**_

_For the weak and for the strong__** (Everyone)**_

_**Just fyi – **_**Why? **_**Chapter 5 is my next challenge. I will try to get that out next for those of you who have been waiting SO patiently…sweatdrop…I'm horrible about updating...**_

_**Any questions/comments, you know the drill – leave me a review or drop me a pm. 'kay?**_

_**Trekker4life (Fanfiction)**_

_**YoukaiLuvr (Mediaminer)**_


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